* * * *
I turned off the computer.
Silence filled the room, and I sank blankly onto the living room sofa.
My reflection stared back at me from the blank television screen in the empty space.
Stressed and disheveled, I looked like a complete wreck.
But strangely, my mind was at ease.
It felt as though my once chaotic thoughts had been neatly organized.
That's right. I was a pushover.
Having accepted that fact, the world began to look different.
Pfft.
A hollow laugh burst from my lips.
Crazy bastard.
Even I could tell my current state wasn't normal.
But what could I do?
This was reality.
I slowly rose from the sofa.
* * * *
Around the time Jihoon was sitting on the sofa with a hollow smile.
Jisu, who had stormed out of the house, had arrived at the downtown bar district.
The bar street on a Friday night was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
Dazzling neon signs flashed chaotically, while a mixture of laughter, shouting, and music assaulted the ears.
Jisu opened the door of a familiar bar and stepped inside; her friend Yuri was waving from a table in the back.
The moment she sat down, Jisu fired off her complaints.
"Ugh, I'm so annoyed I could die."
Yuri passed her a menu as if she were used to this.
"Why, what did your oppa say this time?"
Jisu spilled everything that had just happened at home.
Of course, every detail was thoroughly spun to paint herself in the best light.
"I mean, it's not like I go out every day. I told him I'm just meeting a friend, but he keeps asking why I only ever go out. And then he says, why won't I sleep with him at night these days. Isn't it ridiculous? He must think I'm some machine to satisfy his libido."
Yuri chimed in as if she'd been waiting for this.
"He must be crazy, seriously. Is he a pervert?"
She took Jisu's hand and put on an expression of utmost sincerity.
"Jisu, I'm saying this because I really care about you... You're still young and pretty. Didn't you get married too early? You're at an age where you should be dressing up and getting hit on by men... It's such a waste, really."
At those words, Jisu's mood melted like snow.
It was true.
Objectively speaking, Jisu had a pretty face.
Jihoon, on the other hand, was an ordinary man.
He wasn't tall, and he didn't have an athletic body.
What had she been bewitched by?
Why on earth had she rushed into marriage at such a young, pretty age?
At first, she hadn't regretted it...
But every time she met friends like Yuri, she heard these words.
'You're really too good for him.'
'If only you weren't married, men would be lining up for you.'
Hearing those words over and over, it really started to feel that way.
I am the victim.
A poor victim whose feet were bound by the shackles of marriage at a young age without knowing any better.
Once that thought began to dominate her mind, everything about her married life became a source of regret.
Jisu smiled, taking a sip of her cocktail.
Yes, Yuri was right.
I am too good for this.
Tonight, I shouldn't let this precious beauty go to waste.
So-called "what-a-waste lighting."
The act of filling someone's self-esteem by insisting they could have made a better choice, rather than respecting the decisions they made.
In the world of women, was it an essential survival skill, or a kind of etiquette for maintaining relationships?
In the eyes of Jisu's friends, including Yuri, Jisu had objectively married very well.
While her peers were just starting their social lives, Jisu went around draped in luxury brands from head to toe.
At twenty-one, a respectable apartment in Seoul was their newlywed home.
The husband's side had provided everything.
That alone meant the game was already over.
What kind of family marries off their twenty-four-year-old son and even provides an apartment and living expenses?
Deep inside, dark jealousy bubbled within her friends like lava.
Listening only to Jisu's stories, her husband was a complete romantic and a pushover.
He had plenty of money, a kind personality, and even blocked in-law problems on his own.
How ideal a husband was he?
Harboring that jealousy inside, her friends put on masks and endlessly whispered to Jisu.
"Jisu, you're such a waste."
"Your husband really needs to know how lucky he is."
"If only you hadn't gotten married, by now..."
Those words subtly guided Jisu's actions.
To drift further from her family and fall onto a deviant path.
Of course, the gossip never stopped behind her back.
"Look at that Kim Jisu bitch, living the high life after marrying so well."
They conspired together, taking turns calling Jisu out in the evenings.
An act to make her relationship with her husband grow distant.
They were friends, but it was an act driven by jealousy as women.
Watching Jisu badmouth her husband every time they met, her friends laughed on the inside.
'Do you know we're spitting in your face?'
There is an old saying that you must choose your friends well, but perhaps this was only natural.
Because fundamentally, women were creatures of jealousy.
* * * *
While they were tilting their cocktail glasses and chatting away, a shadow fell over the table.
"Excuse me... If it's not too rude, may we join you?"
The two women turned their heads toward the voice, their eyes going wide in an instant.
The man was extremely handsome.
He had the kind of face you would believe belonged to an idol, and even through his shirt, you could feel a firm body.
He looked about Jisu's age.
For a moment, the face of her husband, Jihoon, flashed through Jisu's mind.
I'm a married woman.
This isn't right.
It was the very instant Jisu was about to open her mouth to refuse.
Yuri, sitting beside her, beat her to the punch.
"Oh my, I'm sorry, but we still have some things to talk about just between us. Could you come back in a little while?"
The man took those words as consent.
He flashed a charming smile and returned to his seat.
The moment he moved away, Jisu looked at Yuri in disbelief.
Then she lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Hey! Are you crazy? I'm a married woman!"
Yuri put on an expression as if she were about to cry.
"Friend! He's really my type... Please, can't we just sit together once?"
"...Still, this is a bit much..."
Jisu looked troubled, but Yuri was persistent.
"Huh? I'll just get his number! We'll hang out for a bit and then split up, okay? Please?"
Seeing her friend beg so desperately, Jisu's heart wavered.
Jisu eventually let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh... Just this once. And you have to keep it an absolute secret."
Yuri's face immediately brightened.
"Yes! Yes! Got it! I love you, Jisu!"
Excited, Yuri took out a small hand mirror and began fixing her makeup.
Jisu watched her for a moment.
She too let out another short sigh.
And pretending to be nonchalant, she slipped off the sparkling wedding ring from her left ring finger and put it in her pocket.
Shortly after, the man from earlier approached the table with one more friend in tow.
Yuri skillfully made room.
Naturally, it became a setup with one man and one woman sitting together.
The man who introduced himself as "Minjun" sat down next to Jisu.
His friend "Seojin" took a seat beside Yuri.
Twenty-three years old and attending a modeling department, they overflowed with confidence and youth.
Minjun openly fixed his gaze on Jisu.
"I've been looking at you since earlier. Your friend is a beauty too, but I fell for you at first sight."
It was an obvious pickup line, but hearing it from a handsome face, it didn't feel bad.
Jisu slightly lowered her head, pretending to be shy.
The feel of the ring in her pocket felt strangely awkward.
Seojin was no slouch either.
He leaned close to Yuri's ear and whispered softly.
"Your friend seems to be hitting it off. Aren't you jealous?"
Yuri laughed and tapped his shoulder.
"Why don't you try making me jealous?"
Glasses were quickly emptied and refilled.
The loud music only brought the four of them closer together; to talk, they naturally leaned in, whispering into each other's ears.
Minjun offered to read Jisu's palm and naturally took her hand.
"Your hand is incredibly small and pretty. Saying you don't have a boyfriend—that's a lie, right?"
His thumb gently brushed across Jisu's palm.
Jisu momentarily held her breath.
It was a dizzying tension she had never felt even once since getting married.
Beside them, Yuri and Seojin had already dropped formalities and were giggling and flirting.
The face of her husband, who would be at home.
The fact that she was a married woman.
Those things were forgotten in the distance amidst the loud music, sweet alcohol, and a strange man's flirting.
The joined table was so enjoyable they lost track of time, and today the cocktails were especially sweet.
Each time the alcohol entered her body, a pleasant buzz rose.
Jisu had married early and hadn't experienced many proper drinking sessions.
Her alcohol tolerance wasn't particularly strong.
But more than anything, what intoxicated her wasn't the alcohol.
It was the relentless advances of the handsome man sitting right beside her, Minjun.
Each of his sweet words sent Jisu's self-esteem soaring into the sky.
'I... I'm not dead yet, am I? If only I hadn't gotten married, men like this would have been lining up for me.'
Women were creatures of delusion.
Especially women with little experience with men.
She couldn't distinguish between the courtship of a male charging in for a one-night stand and the love of a man seeking a companion to share his future.
If Jisu proposed marriage right now, would he really have approached her this aggressively?
She was sincerely mistaking those sweet words meant for a night of pleasure.
Why?
Because she had zero experience with men.
At Jisu's age, she should have experienced being hunted by men and, so to speak, being used as a meal ticket, learning about men's instincts through experience.
But for her, that entire process had been skipped.
The only man she knew was Kim Jihun.
That was why this moment felt even more thrilling.
After a long time—no, a thrill she was feeling for the first time in her life.
It was by no means a bad feeling.
Time flowed quickly toward midnight.
After a few sweet cocktails, Jisu's reason grew faintly distant.
Her judgment began to blur.
The world spun round and round, and Minjoon before her looked even more handsome.
Then suddenly, Jisu looked around.
The seats across from her were empty before she knew it.
Her last memory was Yuri saying, "I'll go buy some banana milk!" and leaving.
But quite some time had passed, and she hadn't returned.
Mmm... Without realizing it, Jisu rested her head on Minjun's shoulder beside her.
Drunk, she was in a completely defenseless state.
"Yuri... where did you go...?"
Minjun's gaze looking down at Jisu burned hotly.
"Who knows...? I haven't heard from her either. Maybe those two left first?"
At those words, Jisu's eyes went round.
"Huh...? They left me behind...? That bitch... I'm going home too...!"
Jisu stood up from her seat, swaying heavily with her tongue twisted.
Minjun firmly grabbed her arm to support her.
"I'll take you home. The streets are dangerous at night."
Was it because of the intimacy built up over a few hours?
Without much suspicion, Jisu nodded.
"Mhm..."
Then she spotted the bill on the table.
Yuri had disappeared without paying.
In her drunkenness, Jisu habitually took out a card from her wallet.
It was the card she had received from her father-in-law.
It was something she shouldn't do, but with her judgment blurred by alcohol, she had habitually taken it out.
Minjun had expected to pay, but seeing Jisu swipe the card without hesitation, he inwardly cheered.
'Jackpot.'
The two of them, having finished paying, went outside the bar.
Minjun naturally wrapped his arm around Jisu's shoulder.
To anyone watching, they looked like an affectionate couple.